The Mysterious Traveller

Frodo  Who the f**k is this chap? Pippin Oh just some blockheaded drunkard from Hardbottle I think I'm finally on the road where the term it'll pay off in the end  has significant relevance. Not in a literal sense as my financial issues are far from being settled, but metaphorically; where playing the waiting game has now begun rewarding me for my patience. This month especially I have felt incredibly uplifted by upcoming events and networking with people connected to these events (all animation related of course). I feel that my current status as an animator is steadily growing with every message I send, every piece of feedback I receive or the comments concerning my work. Every opportunity I am given is graciously accepted. I just need to focus and channel all this productive feeling into productive ACTION ! I have managed to secure a work experience placement in Birmingham's arts and media quarter, known as the Custard Factory , at a studio called Yamina...

Regardless of the numerous dreams of whimsical tomfoolery I have, this post shall avert from the storytelling I usually indulge in and keep true to the original reason to why I started this blog; animation. I have been rather busy in my chosen field of expertise, hence, yet again, why I have been absent from the parallel universe of status updates and new blog entries. I shall, as always, fill you in on Tom's Thumb Productions and describe how my next animating venture should be a very fun and interesting chapter to look into. Enjoy... The Software  - Dragonframe I have been debating for quite some time upon which animation software I should invest in and it has been between the two (seemingly major) players, Stop Motion Pro and Dragonframe . When I began my degree in stop motion I was introduced to Stop Motion Pro and therefore it would be the obvious choice after becoming accustomed to this programme over a three year period. However, after listening to peers and readi...

It finally happened. One of my hair brained schemes actually paid off, and it might not even be awarded or met with such enthusiasm as my own. Actually, if there were anyone who understands this achievement of mine you are either a guy who admires female Marvel characters or the nomadic tribe who discovered cheese. I shall elaborate... For those who know me may of heard of my frivolous tendency to have intricate and bizarre dreams, all of which I cannot explain. For those who know me a little more may recognise my erratic notion of enhancing said dreams by eating cheese before bed time. Once thought a myth, I now deem it conclusive that heavily churned dairy products really does assist in the mind bending creation of the best dreams ever.  Now returning to the topic of Marvel. I have seen the Avengers Assemble film twice in the cinema and think it is quite simply the best superhero movie ever made. Joss Whedon   is truly a legend amongst us; we ar...

George the Knight - pilot episode The grand opening of my blinds (for the first time in three weeks) was a short lived novelty as I am now preparing to animate episode II of George the Knight, forcing me to deny any source of natural light whatsoever. Thus completes my journey towards the dark side of animation. In relation to my puppets (i.e. George) I recall some enlightening words from a Chinese boy; ' First of all, keep him out of the light, he hates bright light, especially sunlight, it'll kill him'. Now, we all know what happened to Gizmo, and that is why the environment I create in my studio needs to stay absolute. Rule number one: you do not change anything on set, hence my compulsive necessity to block out the sun. Rule number two: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club. However, before I could begin animating today there was a slight incident with George. I speak for most animators when I describe this armature problem as possibly the most frustrating of all: the...

George the Knight episode one is on the brink of achievement. It is only a short animation but will hopefully capture the style and attitude of the character so that you guys can empathise with him. It is worth mentioning at this point that George is rather a bitter chap, true at heart but also lazy in nature. He really doesn't like the fact that I have to animate him, and that he cannot move by his own accord. And this is the reality of being a stop motion animator; when the puppets do not cooperate it can jeopardise the entire production. Luckily for me, George held together until the very end (apart from one hand snapping from the wire 'wrist'; one of the most annoying re-occurrence in animating history). I have released a promotional poster of George the Knight  which is just something to set the mood before I upload the final film. As soon as my camera has recharged I can complete this last sequence and thus give George his pilot episode.  Coming soon to a sta...

So I'm going to try out a couple of videos to spice up these blogs (which essentially means I am getting far too lazy to type). But it also means I can make them in quick succession, even if there is little to report on. At the moment I am directing all my power back to animating, therefore, I ought to show samples of any that I have done. I have decided against this; if I use the next few days to bosh out 30 more seconds of animation then I deem the first episode finished and then you may see it in full. For now, check this little video out... So aside from whatever it is I am talking about, you get the general idea of what my 'home studio' looks like. I think I have made it sound much more professional than what it actually is (especially when attempting to impress a lady). In fact, my insane devotion to staying in my room and working has become a social problemo . So much so that I may have forgotten how to woo a girl and even found this very arousing when I went to t...

Three major topics to cover in this post and possibly a couple of minor ones. I will start with the bad news (which might not be necessarily bad BUT temporarily it sucks). It seems as though my Brothers band is having some problems with the single and the track is on hold until further notice. Essentially, this means that the music video is not going to happen for now. If you feel that you want to relinquish your anger upon someone or something I will enclose my Brothers email address just for you.  Now on to the good news; I have finished painting my friend Ian's wall! I ought to elaborate or else this story will literally be as boring as watching paint dry. Ian and his girlfriend Leanne have been blessed with a child last October and I began painting the baby's room with butterflies, pink vegetation and a gender confused giraffe (named Jessie to bridge the gap between male and female).  A terrible thing, taking photos after dark (lighting is awful). Me and my friend St...

I am so close to the animating stage I can almost taste it on the cusp of my tongue. It tastes like epoxy glue but then I have been going a little crazy recently; surely a bit of mild solvent abuse won't matter. I have completed the main character with his medieval garments and weaponry. The only thing George needs now is a pair of hands and some lovely fabric booties. The progress from the last couple of weeks I have made wire hands before but usually need some advice to get it spot on. Luckily, the 'microblogging' service known as Twitter has been of good fortune to me, where a fantastic stop motion animator and photographer known as Ben Whitehouse  kindly sent me a link to his Blog . His recent entry went over in great detail one of the best ways to construct armature hands. So all I need now is some god damn wire! After posting the cunning plan of the animation table ( episode I of 2012) I have actually constructed it to the letter. I just love it...